Useful Resources
Latinos: A Health Snapshot
October 03, 2008
As the fastest growing ethnic population in the United States, Latinos have a major impact on the health care system. Nearly one in three Americans will be Latino by 2050, according to an August 2008 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Latino population is expected to nearly triple from 46.7 million in 2008 to 132.8 million in 2050. As a percentage of the overall U.S. population, Latinos will more than double from 15 to 30 percent. The term Latino is often used interchangeably with Hispanic to refer to persons of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, South or Central American, or Spanish ancestry. The states with the greatest concentration of Latinos are New Mexico, California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Florida, according to the census bureau. Latinos suffer from a disproportionately high incidence of asthma, obesity, teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention's Office of Minority Health & Health Disparities. Hispanics under the age of 65 are more than twice as likely to lack health insurance than non-Hispanics, according to a November 2008 CDC report. As a result, some uninsured Latinos rely on emergency rooms and clinics as their primary source of medical care. For many newer immigrants, lack of familiarity with the health care system and proficiency in English are barriers to care. Updated February 2010
Resource Links
Guidance for Consumers
The coalition strives to inspire Latinos to improve and maintain their health by eating traditional foods and leading active lives.
Blogs
This blog is sponsored by the institute, which works for reproductive health care rights for Latinas, their families and their communities.
Contributions from a coalition of Latinos from various professions who support a national health insurance program.
Advocacy
LNC strives to inspire Latinos to improve and maintain their health by eating traditional foods and living active lifestyles.
The foundation conducts research on health issues that impact Hispanics, with a focus on cancer, asthma, diabetes, obesity and cultural competency in the health care system.
The initiative, based at Hunter College's School of Health Sciences Graduate Program in Urban Public Health, seeks to reduce health disparities affecting Latinos by advancing research, informing relevant policies, and supporting the next generation of Latino public health professionals.
The alliance calls itself the premier science-based organization focusing on Hispanic Health.
The group seeks to eliminate the incidence, burden, and impact of health and environmental problems for Latinos and improve Latinos' access to health coverage.
Public Policy
A paper noting the potential to improve insurance access in immigrant communities by restoring full Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) eligibility to lawfully residing immigrant children and pregnant women.
National advocacy group provides information on the Legal Immigrant Children's Health Care Improvement Act (SCHIP).
A nonprofit research organization, based at the University of Southern California, it focuses on key issues in Latino communities.
Statistics, Trends and Research
The incidence of sexually transmitted diseases among Latinos.
The incidence of HIV/AIDS among Latinos. A September 2009 fact sheet.
Latino/Hispanic Americans mental health fact sheet.
Suicide among Hispanic Americans. This is the most current information the Suicide Prevention Action Network offers as of February 2010.
Understanding the Issue
This research report from the Pew Hispanic Center and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation was issued in 2008.
The goal of this branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to eliminate health disparities.
